The Passenger Who Landed A Plane

Information
Series 1: 1x60 | HD | 2014

FormatHD

Production CompanyArrow Media

Year of Production2014

Primary BroadcasterChannel 4

It’s early evening in October 2013. Seventy-seven year old great-grandfather John Wildey is the only passenger flying home with his pilot friend, after a day out in North Lincolnshire. The pilot suddenly starts to complain of feeling unwell. Ten minutes later he has collapsed at the controls, leaving John alone in the plane, 1500 ft up in the air. He has no flying experience. And it’s starting to get dark.

Unable to find the light switch for inside the cockpit, John Wildey describes his dark surroundings: “Go and sit in your car at night time and don’t switch any lights on….that’s what I could see.” John Cameron, who took the initial ‘Mayday’ call, put John’s chances of survival at less than 30%. Rebecca Bethell, captain of the RAF rescue helicopter says: “flying in the dark would be horrendous for us, and we’re trained in all sorts of emergencies. We just wouldn’t do that”.